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University PIMs
- 2. 2 Our Reputation and Growth • Post 16 at Al Yasmina has continued to grow year on year. • Our reputation is growing and this year we accepted a record 24 external students. • Last year saw a year in which our students went to some of the top universities in the world with some students earning highly valuable scholarships to their prospective universities. • This year we are building our Alumni programme and very much look forward to adding to it next year.
- 12. 12 University of Debrecen, Hungary
- 13. 13 Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands
- 19. 19 Choosing the right University • Location • Country & Curriculum • Courses • Course content and assessment style • Interests and passions • Life on campus beyond the course • Entry Requirements • Course-specific tests for Medicine and Law • Oxbridge Testing • Auditions, Performances and Portfolios for Creative Arts • Tuition Fees and Living Costs • Passport and Citizenship • Scholarships • Financial Aid
- 20. 20 Choosing the right University • University Fairs: • 18th September – NYU – All Campuses • 21st September - Unifrog – Worldwide • 24th & 25th September – IDP – Australia, NZ, Canada, UK • Still to come: • 29th September – NYUAD - UAE • 3rd October – ‘Virtually Orange’ – Netherlands • 4th - 7th October – Unifrog – Canada & Europe Webinars • 7th & 8th October – Khaleej Times Fair - UAE • 6th October – 6th November Fanshawe – Canada • 12th October – NOVVA Al Yasmina – Worldwide
- 21. 21 UCAS Applications Universities and Colleges Admissions Services: This acts as a centralised platform for applying to higher education. Maximum of 5 choices with some restrictions on Early Entry and Oxbridge. Equal consideration and Invisibility Key Dates: 22nd September UCAT Registration Deadline 29th September UCAT Last Testing Date 15th October Early Entry BMAT Registration Deadline 3rd November BMAT Test Date 15th January UCAS Deadline LNAT registration Deadline
- 22. 22 Completing your Application 1. Applicant researches and chooses courses. 2. Registers online with UCAS Apply. 3. Completes application and processes payment. 4. Reference added by the centre 5. Centre sends application electronically to UCAS. 6. UCAS processes application and sends to chosen provider(s). 7. Decisions made. 8. Applicant views decisions in Track. 9. Applicant replies to offers. 10. Place confirmed.
- 23. 23 Personal Statements • Induction week workshops • Personal Statement week through UCAS • Checklists and planning frames • Exemplars • Mentoring sessions
- 24. 24 UK Student Finance Being awarded Home Fee Status by a university does mean that you will pay the lower fees (Home Fees) but does not necessarily mean that Student Finance will automatically give you access to a maintenance and/or tuition loan. If you are hoping to apply for Home Fee Status then you will need to prove that you have been temporarily resident in the UAE, whilst being ‘Ordinarily Resident’ in the UK. • Be prepared to act fast on a ‘Home Status’ Questionnaire • Collect evidence • Each case is individual https://www.gov.uk/education/funding-and-finance-for-students https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/Information--Advice/Fees-and-Money/Home-or-Overseas-fees-the-basics
- 25. 25 US Applications US Applications are different from UK or European applications, students considering this as an option should be aware of the different admission types: Regular Decision, Early Action, Early Decision and Rolling Admissions. Steps to Take CommonApp, Coalition and Direct Application Key Dates: 1st November Early Action Early Decision I 1st January Regular Decision Early Decision II
- 26. 26 UAE Applications Key Dates: September EMSAT Registration window opens Feb-March Autumn intake August-October Spring intake There are many public and private institutions in the UAE so it’s important to check the mode of instruction. The country’s official language is Arabic but many universities teach in English. To enrol at a university in the UAE, follow the procedure on the official website of each institution, as there is no universal application system.
- 27. 27 Documentation Support Transcripts: These will be issued by the school for all exams that have been sat at Al Yasmina. If students have transferred from other schools, scanned certificates are required before transcripts can be issued. These will be sent directly to Universities. Ministry of Education: Certificates will be issued following the MOE exams for Year 12 students on request. Certificates: Formal certificates will be issued for students by the exam boards approximately two months after Results Day. Attestation: Certificates can be attested for 15AED each. Please email a scanned copy of the certificate to the Examination Officer.
- 28. 28 Support Available Resources and Guidance Teams Channels 1-1 Mentoring Unifrog Platform Joined up and transparent approach Students: • Be proactive • Give yourself more time than you think you need Parents: • Ask questions • Keep a list of key dates • Read essays
- 29. 29 Support Available Miss Taylor Director of Post-16 Mrs Dunn Deputy Head of Post-16 Mr Dean Deputy Head of Post-16 Mr Qamar Associate Head of Year Mrs Sousha-Nady Post-16 Support Mrs Chowdhury 13 Malala Mrs Chowdhary 13 Luther Mr Pyper 13 Nelson Mrs Grey ACE Support Mr Sheikh 13 Williams Mr Roche 13 Hawking Mr Brown 13 Ali Mr Lambert 12 Malala Mr Khan 12 Luther Mr Niblock 12 Nelson Miss Dunn 12 Williams Ms Sond 12 Hawking Mrs D’Souza 12 Ali
- 30. 30 Update on the Post 16 Centre
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Editor's Notes
- Our main goal is to foster confident, independent and driven individuals who are prepared for the next stage in their lives. Tonight I will to talk you through some key information and dates in the university process but also to highlight the wealth of resources I have made available to support your students at each stage. Ultimately, we want to see successful students embarking on their pathways having been empowered to use all the information available to them to achieve their goals. Our role, and yours as parents, is a supportive one and the driving force behind each application is the student themselves. I have attached for you an electronic handout with some important hyperlinks I’ll begin with. I have built a website for our students to act as a HUB of main information from which they can base their research and shortlisting process. There is an enormous amount of information here and it is broadly broken down into the different curriculums. I’ll show you around real quick and go into this in more detail later on.
- Another thread that is essential to supporting our students is our 1-1 mentoring. 3 mornings a week are dedicated to 1-1 mentoring and all conversations and actions are recorded here centrally. This is a blank example for you to see; if you’d like a version to help structure any conversations you are having at home regarding university applications then please do let me know. The purpose is to develop a clearly focused and joined up approach between the tutor conversations, those with our support team such as Mrs Polite and Mrs Grey, and the career conversations that we have as well. All staff involved have access to this and can see changes in real time. This also helps structure useful conversations around university choices and shortlists directly comparing entry requirements to their external exams, EOY results and predicted grades. It is each students’ responsibility to come to these meetings prepared with this information and their own research for university entry requirements for their choices to make sure the time spent is as valuable as possible. It is also important to note that the learning mentor is the first point of contact with these mentor meetings. I use this document to maintain oversight of the whole year group and at least one mentoring meeting with their tutor needs to have occurred and agreed actions put into practice before a meeting is then booked with me.
- The third main strand we have introduced this year is centralising personal statements. Each student in Year 13 has been sent a wordonline link in their emails where they can write their personal statement directly on to. This can be accessed by their mentor and the post-16 team for live feedback. This creates clarity in feedback and stops messiness of parallel drafts developing after being sent to different people for checking. I’ll go into more detail about the support for personal statements but this format is important. Year 13s have been reminded multiple times during notices, tutor time and via Teams to use this platform for feedback.
- Our integrated platform for shortlisting universities, independent research and access to a huge bank of resources in our subscription to Unifrog. The information they have made available is incredibly comprehensive. They also offer webinars which I have shared many links for on Teams; some of these are live such as the Canada and Europe ones coming up and some are recorded guidance such as living and studying in different parts of the UK. One of my first points of call when a mentor meeting is booked is to pull up the students’ unifrog account. Both I and their learning mentors can see the shortlists they have made which are grouped by course and by country. These can then be downloaded by the students to offer a comprehensive two page PDF per uni course covering all entry requirements and hyperlinks to their admissions sites. This is a fantastic tool and I would strongly recommend, as parents, to go through your son or daughter’s shortlist with them.
- A more challenging decision for international students than any other. Your options are much more broad and this can be both exciting and daunting. I would recommend establishing a criteria as a family by which you can rank your longlist universities. Where are the main areas I would urge you to consider in this process. Country & Curriculum: Different entry systems – UK applications generally are more selective with low expectations for dropout. Mainland Europe offers high acceptance rates and universities expect to see slightly greater dropout rates as a result. When considering different countries and curriculums, look into the visa requirements as these will all be highly personalized situations. EUNICAS is the centralised platform for Europe Courses: Which modules are the most interesting and relevant to applicants career aspirations? What combination of exams, coursework or presentations is the course assessed by? Who are the tutors and are they experts in areas the applicant wants to learn about? What subject areas do they specialise in? Can applicants study abroad or get help with work placements? Are Erasmus courses or Sandwich years available? How near a city center or the countryside are they? Another consideration for international students should be more localized geography for the country or city; are there good transport links if you intend on catching flights back to another country for holidays and breaks. Entry Requirements: Course specific tests for Medicine: BMAT and UKCATs – we have already had an incredibly thorough webinar on the intricacies of these as well as applying tactically for Medicine. LNATs are also an external examination which need to be registered for an completed independently. Similarly, IELTS, SATs and some university specific tests require the student to register and prepare for these independently. It is very important to research your university preferences thoroughly so you are aware of and manage all the different nuances of university admissions. American and European admissions look favourably on contact made directly from the application with well considered questions and a clear indication of interest on their course as it demonstrate drive and independence. Be careful though, check first as much of the information is freely available on their websites so seek out that information in the first instance. Practice papers and preparation are essential for these extra entry-requirements as universities are looking to see what kind of learners you have the potential to be. Other admin entry requirements; if you plan to apply to universities in Europe and plan on doing so through EUNICAS then you should also be mindful of their own admin deadlines. Registering for this central platform is a flat rate of 38 Euro but they will expect you to submit a pre-application form to them at least 5 days BEFORE the deadline of the course given for which you are applying. This is because they will share with you specific application guidelines and will potentially contact the school for documentation in the interim. They do welcome questions both directly to EUNICAS and the university should you need clarification. The useful thing about this platform is they have a direct phone number on their website as well as a support email and responses are usually quite quick. Tuition Fees and Living Costs: Consider adding the tuition fees to your ranking list. These can differ greatly for American universities Passport and citizenship in different countries is also something to bear in mind. If you hold an American passport you can apply for FAFSA, federal financial aid but if not, scholarships and private funding should be factored into your decision. Similarly, if you are considering Northern Europe countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Finland offer free Bachelor’s and Masters programmes to all EU citizens. In Norway all education is free at public universities. This may be tempered somewhat by very high living costs. Follow the links I have made available for a list of different scholarships available. If you are applying to the UK we will point you in the direction of guidance of finance a little later in the presentation. Passports and citizenship will play a role in the administration process after your application. Do check if your citizenship requires you to apply for a Shengen visa in order to study in Europe. This will affect you if you hold a passport from South Africa, Tunisia, Sudan, Sri Lanka or Egypt just to name a few.
- Here are just some of the university fairs we have already shared and hosted to promote your research into potential routes. All of these have been posted for a number of weeks on our Teams pages and I strongly recommend you maintain a close eye on the channels for your prospective curriculums for more. Do not forget all our work on Unifrog: this is a worldwide platform that encompasses universities and colleges around the world. The shortlists you create for America, UK, Canada and Mainland Europe will be hyperlinked directly to the entry requirement webpages of those universities; use this tool effectively by downloading your shortlist as a PDF as it will give a two-page breakdown of that university and the selected course. Be sure to attend as many of these as you can; the information they offer is VITAL. You have direct access to admissions tutors at the universities you want to get in to so use this resource. It is very important to be well researched and prepared as there are so many differing deadlines throughout the year to manage. Therefore having your preferences clear in your mind is important. For example, 01 Feb Applications open in Denmark (close 15 March) – this is a very small window in comparison to other countries. 01 May Applications close for most Dutch Research Universities therefore make sure you know which ones apply to your choices. For virtual tours as well do use the links on my website to guide you through the different curriculums: https://awakenenglish.com/2021/08/15/post-16-virtual-tours-and-open-days/
- Application is entirely online Maximum of five choices Some choice restrictions: medicine, veterinary medicine/science, dentistry (maximum of four) Oxford or Cambridge Simple application cost: one choice – £20 (changed for 2020 cycle) two to five choices – £25 Equal consideration - this means that if an application meets the published deadlines then a provider must consider it. Applications received after the deadlines will still be forwarded to universities and colleges, providing they have vacancies, but they are not obliged to consider them. ‘Invisibility’ We send the application on to each of the chosen universities and colleges at the same time. Each university or college has access to the information about their choice only. They must not ask applicants, or the person that the applicant has nominated to have access to their application, to reveal their other choices. This is what we call invisibility. Only much later in the application cycle, when an applicant has received decisions on all their choices and replied to any offers, will each university or college be able to see details of the other choices. This ensures that each university or college decides independently whether to offer a place and what conditions, if any, to attach to an offer. Applicants do not need to rank their choices in order, applications are simultaneously considered by providers, and due to the invisibility they do not know the applicants other choices until decisions and replies have been made. KEY DATES: Internal deadline of 14th November for final checks on personal statement Internal deadline of 21st November for tutor references
- KEY: Red– Al Yasmina – quality assurance, checking processes Green – UCAS Blue– Uni Black– Learner Once a student completes their application, including their personal statement, they need to process the payment (‘pay and send’). The completed application is then forwarded to the form tutor by the student. Pressing ‘pay and send’ does NOT send the application to UCAS. It is school UCAS coordinator who sends the application to UCAS. Once the universities have looked at an application they may give an offer. This may come in a variety of forms. Traditionally it would be conditional on achieving certain grades eg ABB or it could be in the form of UCAS points. An unconditional offer is where a university says that no grades have to be met and they want the student on the basis of their application alone. Whilst this is nice to receive students, wisely don’t often opt for these as they tend not to be of their top choice university. Whatever the format it is important that students understand their offers and if they have to undergo further tests or an interview.
- Personal Statement week: 20/09-24/09 held through UCAS. A wealth of videos, tutorials and guides available to add to the extensive support we have offered in house. Internally we have provided checklists and planning frames to structure the early stages of the process. Induction week saw a great deal of time dedicated to writing these first drafts of personal statements as well as live tutorials with their learning mentors on Unifrog and university shortlisting. I have also made available a range of excellent personal statements online and crucial information about these including: The universities where the authors of the statements received offers from The strengths and weaknesses in each and important takeaways from the style used. We have set up a WordOnline document for every student in Yr13 to write their Personal Statement directly into. This is a crucial step because as a team, we are committed to transparency and sharing of information. What this means is that We can see in real time changes made to each personal statement. Learning mentors have access to all of their classes and the wider Post-16 can also see and offer feedback directly. For example, if your child received ACE support, their personal statement can be read and supported by Ms Grey directly as well as the Post-16 team and their tutors. This process will streamline communication and avoid multiple drafts of statements diverging as all parties can see the guidance already offered. This ties in with our mentoring sessions; 3 mornings a week are dedicated to 1-1 mentoring with students and their learning mentors to support them both academically in subjects and to monitor their progress in the applications process as well as pastorally to ensure they are coping with the rigors that these final years can bring. This feeds into our flowchart here where you can see the stages of guidance offered by all teachers involved in the process. The initial stages are proofed by their learning mentors in these 1-1 sessions and adjustments made. This can sometimes be minor grammatical errors a student has missed or structural support in ensuring all the important areas are covered. After at least 2 draft stages with the learning mentor, myself and Mr Qamar proof these statements as they reach their completion. Here my expertise as an English teacher will no doubt come to the fore! I have already offered detailed feedback to all students completing Early Entry medical applications and who have followed this process. There have been some thoroughly impressive reads and truly highlights the incredible calibre of our students shaped by their time at Yasmina. As they reach the final stages of completion I would recommend that they share their personal statements with you. Your involvement in this process is paramount as we create a supportive network that encompasses home and school life in launching these young adults into their futures. It is also just such a joy, and one of my favourite parts of the role, to delve into the motivations and passions behind each application.
- With regards to any advice in this area, this is highly personal and each student is dealt with on a case by base basis. I can offer broad guidelines but strongly recommend researching this thoroughly to have a good awareness of your status. What used to be student finance has now come under the GOV.UK branch and you can use the links mentioned on screen for further information. So what does this mean? Temporary resident? “Temporary Employment outside the Residence Area” Student Support regulations expressly provide that:- “You are to be treated as ordinarily resident in the relevant residence area i.e. the UK if you would have been ordinarily resident there but for the fact that your parent/s are or were temporarily employed outside the area (UK) in question” The word 'temporary' is not defined, so you need to be able to provide evidence that your parents employment is or was outside the relevant area for a limited period, (i.e. temporary or fixed term contract) and that you would have been ordinarily resident in the relevant area (UK) if your parents temporary employment had not taken you out of it. Something that it is important to be aware of it that the longer you are physically absent from the residence area, the harder it may be for you to argue that you were only temporarily absent from that area. I know of students who were born in Dubai and have still managed to get Home Fee Status however there is talk of students having to have lived in the UK for at least half of their lives. If you are granted home status and wish to apply for a maintenance loan, you can also opt for income assessed or non-income assessed. This will be another stage to the process to offer financial aid where necessary. If the household salary falls within the threshold, students can be eligible for economic grants so it may be worth considering at the time.
- Differences between the types of applications you can make: Early Action Early Action offer competitive places to incredibly sought after courses. Hence the early deadline. This is quite similar to Early Entry in UCAS however, not subject specific. Those applying for Early Action should have already made themselves known to me and added me to your application platforms. A reminder to all who are applying to US curriculum, I know I have said this multiple times in assembly notices and on Teams however, it is essential you add me as your counsellor to your applciations. Since our last PIMs when I raised this, only x2 students have added me. If you do not, I cannot support your applications and the deadlines will pass you by. You have been warned. Again. Lol. Early Decision Early Decision varies only from EA in that it is a binding offer to that university. You are making a commitment that should they accept you, you will not be applying anywhere else. Consider it a university marriage of sorts. Regular Decision Universities and colleges which follow the ‘normal’ deadline of the 1st January. This is different from rolling admission as it mirrors the UCAS system more closely in the sense that universities will wait for all the applications to come in before making decisions on the cohort as a whole and offering places after the deadline has closed. Rolling admissions typically offer places until that course is full; do not become complacent and think this will continue until the end of the academic year. Steps to Take: Prepare and take your SAT/ACTs. Check out the Test Dates here as these are very early in the academic year. Ask for letters o f recommendation. Your teachers and counselor (me) will need a month or so to prepare these. To be completely prepared you should probably make both your tutor and your counselor aware of this at the end of your Year 12 year. Begin writing your college essays, I would recommend working on this over the summer as well to share a first draft with your tutor in the new year. Ensure that you have left enough time in October for proofing your essays and adding your extracurriculars ready for the November deadlines. Commonapp and Coalition How do the essays differ between the platforms? Commonapp essays will go to all of your universities that you apply to on Commonapp. For this reason you should not make specific reference to a course or collect and this will not be favourable for your other choices. Your Coalition essays will go into your ‘locker’ and can be reviewed by your university choices. Some universities will require supplemental essays and others will ask for ones written directly to them. Each university will have its own requirements so do your research and do not think you can use a one size fits all as with UCAS. Those of you who attended the various Unifrog webinars on the 21st may well have been in the US lecturers repeatedly used the phrase ‘authentic self’ as their intention with these essays is to see beyond the curriculum figures and see you for who you are as a person. Be aware their prompts will be geared this way as well, focusing on a moment of personal growth or a dilemma you may have faced. These essays are typically much shorter that a UCAS personal statement and it is NOT recommended to go beyond the tight word count. Some universities may even simply stop reading at the cut off. Direct Application and the UCs Another application process to keep in mind if you are considering the American system is UCs. This encompasses 9 campuses in California where you must apply directly through them. Take all of this into consideration as you begin this journey and prepare well in advance; applying through the US system can require a great deal of time and you need to be able to schedule this balance with your studies which is the most important thing. Key Dates and information: On my website I have already shared with you lists of Early Action Colleges and all the different college application deadlines; please do look at these as these are wide ranging and different. I’ve also offered you a breakdown of the difference between Early Action and Early Decision in more detail if you are unsure. Lastly, harking back to previous my previous slides on course-specific criteria to consider which country/curriculum/university to consider in your applications, I have included a list of the required IELTs for American universities. For those who have already sat their IELTs, this is particularly useful information in sorting through your shortlists. https://awakenenglish.com/2021/09/02/post-16-support-american-curriculum/
- If English is not your native language, you will need to complete an IELTS or TOEFL test as proof of your proficiency. Some universities may use Arabic as their language of instruction for certain programmes, so you may be required to show proof of proficiency in Arabic as well. You’ll need a sponsor from a parent or relative in the UAE for your visa application. The UAE’s government portal notes that “Accredited universities and colleges in the UAE can secure a visa for their students whether international students or students already residing in the UAE. Students should refer to the terms and conditions listed in each university or college to know specific requirements for admission and visa process.” Key documents required for applications in the UAE include: Emirates ID and Passport Original equivalency letter issued by the UAE Ministry of Education for a foreign curriculum (private schools in UAE, and any qualification issued outside the UAE) Proof of 12years of schooling including transcripts of IGCSE and A-level grades No objection letter from National Service Department (for Male Emirati students) There will be an application fee for some universities An example from UAEU: A high school certificate (Grade 12), or its equivalent, with a grade of not less than 80%. Applicants must have a valid English grade EmSAT (1250) or TOEFL ITP (525)/ IBT (70) or have scored IELTS (5.5) or above. IELTS certificate issued outside the UAE must be approved by the British Council. There may also be college-specific requirements once you meet the overall requirements for the university: An example from engineering is: College of Engineering A minimum score of (1100) in EmSAT Exam of Mathematics, or its equivalent, or passing the College placement tests. A minimum score of (500) in EmSAT Exam of Chemistry or Physics, or its equivalent, or passing the College placement tests. A minimum score of (900) in EmSAT Exam of Arabic. Some universities also have their own entrance exams such as the University of Sharjah so I urge you to ensure you research your choices thoroughly and you are preparing for any external examinations. Remember: We can register you for EMSAT but these need to be sat at an external testing centre. We cannot register you for IELTS or any other course-specific testing, these can be done through the British council.
- A five day turn around time is required for all requests Thanaweya certificates are not issued by the school. We issue a report of the students grades. Parents need to take that report to MOE and they produce equivalency certificate.
- Key Links Docs Mentoring: tutor, ACE with Ms Grey, student voice with ms Shousha-Nady.